


Night on the Town

by Miraphina Atherton (mew_tsubaki)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/F, Lav is a blast, cameos from others - Freeform, still one of the most fun things i've ever had the pleasure to write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 22:58:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15083573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mew_tsubaki/pseuds/Miraphina%20Atherton
Summary: Add in a bit of sordid history and one witch is conned into a wild, one-night ride that she wishes will never stop.





	Night on the Town

**Author's Note:**

> The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. Read, review, and enjoy!

Daphne Greengrass exited her sister's reception and spat on the ground. Being near _that_ many people she disliked often left a bad taste in her mouth. Today was no different.

She walked along the street of the venue, preparing her nerves. She knew she'd have to go back into the warzone, otherwise her parents and sister would be disappointed. _Not to mention I don't need any sad stares from_ those _gray eyes_ , the blond witch thought.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't mind her shoulder, which stuck out enough to slam into someone. "Hey, watch it!" the other woman barked.

Daphne apologized. "Sorry. Um, nerves. Wedding jitters. That sort of thing."

The woman—blond, her age, light brown eyes—looked at her, her expression softening. "Oh…sorry. Cold feet, huh? That sucks."

Daphne grinned, finding it nice to have _someone_ say something so frankly. All the people she'd spent time near these days—they'd all been so dainty and delicate and downright _dimwitted_. "Not mine. My sister's."

The woman took a closer look at her, and Daphne began to wonder if she'd seen her before. "Wait a minute—Daphne Greengrass."

It clicked. "Lavender Brown." Daphne grew slightly apprehensive. She wasn't sure she was willing to comment any further about her family or situation to someone like Brown.

To her surprise, Lavender smiled. "Well, fancy that! I didn't realize Astoria was getting married…" Her voice trailed off, her smile fading. "Oh, I get it…"

Daphne frowned. Of anyone in the whole, wide world, _yes_ , _Lavender Brown_ would understand.

"She's marrying Draco, isn't she?"

Daphne ducked her teal eyes, pretending to fiddle with her cloak's buttons.

"Hey."

Daphne looked back up at her, hating that she saw… _empathy_ in those hazel eyes. "What? Are you going to ridicule me now? Parkinson may have thrown herself at him, and, while I never did anything outlandish, I know it was known that I wanted him."

Lavender rolled her eyes. "You and every other girl with a taste for bad boys."

The sentence shocked the Greengrass witch. "What?"

Lavender shrugged. "It happens. You know, war begins, girl is forced to go to school even when it's dangerous, emo boy finds a bit of courage to get any unwarranted attention from Death Eaters off the girl, girl swoons, and end scene." She took a chocolate bar from her pocket, opened it, and broke off a square to eat. She pointed the bar towards Daphne. "Want some?"

"Um, no, thank you."

Lavender shrugged again, leaning to look behind Daphne. "So that building…"

"Yeah, everyone's there."

"Hmm." She nodded.

Daphne twiddled her fingers, hoping to leave soon. Even plastering on a fake smile in front of the others was better than being sized up by Lavender Brown. Who, by the way, appeared as though an idea was forming in her mind. And anyone who even remotely knew Lavender Brown knew that her ideas could be hazardous to one's health.

"Say, Daphne…"

"It's 'Greengrass.'"

"You can call me 'Lavender.'"

" _Miss_ Brown, I am perfectly fine on my own—"

"We both liked Draco."

Daphne shut up, unable to look away from Lavender's penetrating gaze. "Yes," she admitted.

"Astoria stole him from both of us."

"…yes," she reluctantly added.

"Shall we party the night away to forget the fuckers?"

Lavender stared at her, such an innocent grin on her face that it was hard to believe that such foul language had just poured from those very pink lips. In fact, if Daphne didn't know better, she'd say Lavender looked quite proud of herself. That pride was… _quite contagious,_ the older Greengrass witch concluded. She glanced behind her at the reception hall and chewed her lip, deciding.

"Well?"

Daphne grinned back, feeling gloriously unlike herself. "Lead the way."

"That's more like it." Lavender winked and marched up to the venue, and Daphne panicked.

"Wait! What are you doing? I thought you meant that we'd get out of here!" Her face was unbelievably red as Lavender pried open the doors.

"First things first, _Miss_ Greengrass."

Daphne chased after her in a frenzy. "Wait, no, Lavender, don't interrupt the—" She closed her mouth as they peeked in on the best man's speech. Blaise hadn't even opened his mouth when Lavender cleared her throat.

"Ahem," Lavender said loudly. Her Umbridge-like impression caught the attention of Blaise, Draco, Astoria, and the few other Slytherins with whom they'd gone to school. "Ahem, excuse me. I'd just like to say that Draco Malfoy is a smart man who's making a mistake and Astoria Greengrass has a tiny penis. Thank you, please carry on."

Daphne paled when Lavender closed the door and faced her.

"What?"

" _LAVENDER_!" Daphne hissed.

"It's not as though you still live at home—right?" Now Lavender didn't look too sure.

"No, I don't, but—"

"Then you're fine." Lavender stopped when they heard the sound of chair legs scraping on the floor. "Oh, shit. We should get out of here!"

" _You think_?" Daphne's voice was shrill, and her heart was pounding in her chest when Lavender grabbed her hand and yanked on it with all her might. The two witches sped out of the building and ran down the street. " _Wait_!" Daphne huffed. "I don't even know this area!"

Lavender kept tugging her along. "Then good thing I do!" She laughed and kept running, and Daphne was inclined to laugh with her. They went for four blocks before the adrenaline abandoned them and forced them to slow down.

"I thought"—Daphne stated between gasping for air—"that you said we should _forget_ them."

"Of course. With what I just did, they won't forget us, but we'll certainly be able to forget them."

"It's times like these that I'm happy I support myself…" Daphne shook her head, unsure of what she'd gotten herself into. She paused and bashfully looked at her partner-in-crime. "Did you really say that my _sister_ has a tiny…?"

"A tiny penis? Yep. Why not? It gave me a few seconds' worth of distraction to at least close the door before our escape."

Daphne heartily guffawed at the words. "I still can't—!" She shook her head, tears in her eyes from laughing too much. "Sweet Salazar, she's always been the princess of the family, getting her way. It's…" Daphne paused. "I'll admit, it's a little nice having the upper hand for one sweet moment."

"Who said it only has to last the moment?" Lavender looked at her as though she were an imbecile. "When I said we'd party the night away, I meant it." She motioned for Daphne to follow her but didn't grab her hand this time.

"…all right. But where to first?"

* * *

Lavender insisted they hit a bakery first. "How else do you plan to run the whole night? On an empty stomach? Nuh-uh."

Daphne questioned what Lavender bought for them, as they were the most hyped-up of the hyped-up: donuts and cake-pops and little designs of caramelized sugar. She could already feel her teeth rotting in her mouth…!

Then Lavender shoved a cake-pop in Daphne's mouth. "Come on. We're not going to be here all night. Let's keep moving."

"Can I help you carry some of that?"

Lavender shook her head, her blond waves appearing wild in the moonlight. "Nah, I've got it." She stuck a cake-pop in her own mouth and sucked on it as though it were a normal lollipop. "So… You can support yourself?" she prompted.

Daphne listened to the clack of their heels on the pavement for a while before answering. "I work in the Portkey Office in the Ministry. I make some potions on the side. They bring in enough Galleons to keep me in the life to which I'm accustomed." _Barely_ , she thought inwardly.

"Why'd you just… _let_ Astoria have him?"

Daphne dismissed that idea. "Oh, they've been together for a while. There was no interfering. I wouldn't have made a good match for him anyway."

"But you still liked him."

Daphne mulled it over. "…I dunno. Perhaps I still like the _idea_ of him." She shook her head. "It's stupid… When you're born into a pureblood family, you think there's a pureblood prince awaiting you somewhere down the line…" She sighed and glanced at Lavender. "What about you?"

"…I manage." She pursed her lips before crunching into a crystallized-sugar rabbit. "Hey, you want to go to a club?"

"What? Where did that come from?"

"It's just an idea."

Daphne considered it. Hell, they'd done enough damage for one night—why not do enough to last a lifetime? "Any place in particular?"

"I know a great one near the Quidditch shop I haunt."

Daphne giggled. She loved how Lavender spoke; it was a breath of fresh air compared to the purebloods. "Quidditch is still a mainstay in your life?"

"Kinda."

They crossed the street, and Daphne shed her cloak and crammed it into her purse. She now understood why Lavender was going around in a light traveling cloak. All the movement generated its own heat. "So you really liked Draco? After Weasley?" Daphne resumed.

Lavender groaned. "Oh, Godric, _that_ idiot… I count Ron Weasley as the debut of my hormones, thank you very much." She pulled a face. "I prefer to forget those days. Including the ones of the war."

"Even when you liked Draco?"

Lavender pushed the bag of sweets into Daphne's arms. "Some things are better left forgotten."

Daphne watched Lavender for a while, blindly following her as the night got darker and the Moon barely provided enough light to follow. They passed countless Muggle businesses and homes, and Daphne thought it a curiosity that her family or the Malfoys ever had deigned to have any occasion celebrated in such close quarters with the very same people they always said they hated. _It makes you wonder if people change or just learn to put up better fronts_ , the Greengrass daughter thought.

"Ah!" Lavender pointed. "There it is, up ahead."

Daphne followed her finger and saw what looked like a store for cleaning supplies. But on second glance, she thought she spotted the word "Nimbus" written in gold ink on one broom handle. She smiled; she'd always liked the idea that magic surrounded her even when she wasn't looking for it.

"And there's the club entrance," Lavender stated, motioning to the unsightly electrical sign that read "T_A_N_G_O."

Daphne choked on another cake-pop. "Are you kidding me? All the…"

"Muggles? We're not all witches, luv," Lavender answered. She walked to the front of the line and winked at the security man. "Hey, Jack."

"Lav." He nodded to her, and the man behind him let her and Daphne enter without any fuss.

"It's been a while," Lavender thought aloud. She shrugged out of her cloak and walked to a comfortable-looking booth where she dropped her belongings onto a seat.

Daphne admired her daring to wear fitted jeans and a violet halter top. Compared to her—hell, compared to anyone in the club, Daphne was more than overdressed. When she'd stepped out of the reception hall for a breather, she'd thrown her cloak over her viridian evening dress. She still had diamonds in her ears and on her neck, for Merlin's sake!

Lavender noticed her discomfort. "Don't worry about it. Some people get more dressed up than that for here." She paused. "'Course, most aren't sober when they do that…"

"I'll try to, erm, blend in, then…" She sat down in the booth with their stuff and watched Lavender mingle. Daphne was happy for a moment to herself. Between the fleeing and the walking, they'd already been gone for—Daphne checked her watch—over two hours. Surprisingly, Daphne didn't feel tired in the least; she chocked it up to the sugar, as Lavender had promised.

The crowd in the club was lively, noisy, and offensive—and highly entertaining. Honestly, Daphne was fine with just watching everyone else instead of getting out there herself. Even when a couple of blokes asked her to dance, Daphne turned them down. Until Lavender came over with her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me I brought you here for nothing," the hazel-eyed witch remarked.

"It's fine… I—I think I've had my fill of excitement for the night…"

"Oh, no, you don't," Lavender quipped. She grabbed Daphne's bare arm and twirled her onto the dance floor. In and out, side to side—Lavender got Daphne moving, and the two witches enjoyed jiving together.

"This is ridiculous!" Daphne yelled over the music as Lavender twirled her out of her arms.

"I don't need Riddikulus right now, though!" Lavender joked, bringing Daphne back into her arms.

Yeah…there wasn't a need for spells of any sort at the moment.

* * *

The night was floating by for Daphne. Between Lavender's vivacity, the sugar, and the beat of the club, Daphne was pretty sure she could've gone on for several nights.

In reality, she slowed when Lavender started to lose her momentum. "Even I need rest at some point," the Gryffindor mentioned. She parked herself at their table and ushered Daphne back onto the floor. "Give me a minute, will you? And go flirt." She pointed to a man their age in a black shirt. "That bloke's been making googly eyes at you the whole time."

Daphne looked over her shoulder at said bloke and paled. She blinked and then the feeling went away. "Oh. Oh, Merlin…"

"What?" But Lavender couldn't disguise the teasing tone of her voice.

"He…he looks a little like Draco."

Lavender laughed. "Then _carpe_ _diem_!"

"Oh, dear lord… You mean 'carpe noctem.'"

"Same difference."

Though Lavender tried waving her away, Daphne shook her head. "No, it's all right. I'm…a little tired. I'll stay with you."

Lavender looked at her—truly looked at her for the first time that evening as the other witch sat beside her. Whatever it was that had compelled her to whisk Daphne away from social torture was a bit evident in her suddenly doe-like eyes. Then her grin returned and a mask appeared. Perhaps Lavender was faking something…but Daphne wasn't sure what.

"Lavender…?"

The blonde leaned her cheek on Daphne's head. "I say it's time to finish the night with a firewhiskey or two, my friend."

Daphne mustered a weak smile. "You're not my friend."

"Details, details…" Lavender got up and slipped her cloak back on, though Daphne thought she caught a glimpse of something.

"Lavender, your—"

But Daphne was interrupted by the man in the black shirt. "Oi, you want to dance? Or a drink? Drink's on me, of course."

Daphne didn't even look at him. "No, I'm here with my friend." She grabbed her own cloak and the rest of the sweets and followed Lavender out of the club. Daphne shivered; it'd gotten colder during their stay.

Outside, Lavender took in several deep breaths of fresh air. She walked along the sidewalk, Daphne trailing a bit behind her. Then, unfortunately, a few more sets of footsteps joined them.

"Hey!" a male voice called.

The witches turned and saw the bloke from before—plus a few buddies. Daphne felt bile rising in the back of her throat. This had to be anything but good.

"Yeah, you," the Draco-lookalike said to Daphne. "You don't just brush a man off, you know."

"And I said I was with a friend," Daphne replied, a hard edge to her voice. She slowly backed up so she was closer to Lavender, who tensed.

"And I have a friend for her, too, if she likes," he joked.

Daphne didn't like how he and his "friends" sauntered. "Lav, can I have a minute of your trust?"

Lavender glanced at her. "Gee, if it's that important, _Daph_ ," she whispered back, no hint of her lion-ly courage with her this time.

"Oi," the lookalike repeated, "I said I have a friend for— _Jeezus_!"

Daphne quickly spun to face Lavender and took one second to make eye contact before snogging her right then and there. It was odd and sweet—coated in sugar that hadn't quite dissolved on their tongues from the sweets and half sweaty from a night that had probably died too early. Lavender bought into her plan, though, and kissed her back feverishly, even allowing Daphne to tangle her fingers in her hair. When Lavender slipped the pins from Daphne's own coif and sank her fingers into the creamy tresses, the Greengrass daughter's pulse quickened, and her body moved on its own to arch into the other witch's front. Yes, it was a cold night, but now it was plenty hot.

The group of men groaned. "Fucking sapphos," spat the Draco-lookalike, and he led his pals back into the club so only the two witches remained on the street.

Despite a tingle that had started in her brain, spun in her stomach, and settled in her toes, Daphne broke away from Lavender with a sheepish smile and looked at the club entrance. "Well…they're gone."

Lavender stared at her, grinning and trying her best not to laugh. "Oh, yeah, they definitely are." She slung an arm around Daphne's shoulders and finally loosed her giggles. "Ha, _why_ weren't you in Gryffindor…?" She abruptly stopped, another bright idea clearly displayed on her face. "Ooh, I know! Have you ever ridden in an auto?"

"You mean that Muggle contraption? No, of course not."

"Me either!" Lavender looked down the street and held out her arm. " _Taxi_!"

Daphne gaped at her, but the feeling of astonishment easily passed. Lavender was just… _Lavender_. And, funnily enough, Daphne was okay with that.

* * *

The taxi ride was not as bad as Daphne had imagined it might be. She and Lavender sat in the backseat with the bag of sweets between them, but, with so few goodies left, there was hardly a barrier. Lavender didn't say anything, instead choosing to lean on her door and watch as the city lights flew by.

Daphne, too, watched what went on outside her window. She had no idea where they were going—Lavender had simply given the driver an address—but she found she didn't mind. She'd been safe with her classmate for this long, so there was little chance of this turning out any worse than they had been when Daphne had first left the reception.

"Hey, Daph."

"Hmm?"

"How're you holding up?"

"Fine," Daphne replied. But, as she said it, her eyelids grew a tad heavy. The night was finally catching up with her.

They finished the ride in silence, ending at a quiet little cottage that was out of place on the edge of the city. Lavender got out and opened Daphne's door for her. She paid the driver, as well, and they watched the vehicle speed off.

"Is this your place?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah." Lavender waved her wand and tapped the door twice with it. Then they entered, and Lavender waved her wand again after Daphne came in behind her. "Well, that was fun."

Daphne took off her cloak and draped it over her arm. She liked the look of Lavender's home. It was surprisingly subdued in comparison to what she'd known of the witch's personality, but—in evidence of tonight—it actually made some sort of sense. The plain, flower wallpaper; the off-rose carpet; the hallways half blocked by furniture; the magazines and clothing and peculiar collectibles gathering dust as they sat with their faces to the walls. It fit and yet it didn't into the puzzle that was Lavender Brown.

"Firewhiskey?"

"Hmm, what? Oh, no… Butterbeer, please." Daphne followed Lavender through the kitchen, where the latter grabbed the drinks, and into a room that was half living room, half bedroom. The Slytherin dropped into the pullout couch and kicked off her shoes, swinging her legs up.

Beside her, Lavender flopped back and sighed. "Godric, I've never been so exhausted. I'll be sleeping well tonight." She took out her candy bar from before and broke off another block. "Want some?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Daphne settled into the cushions, letting her back be cradled by the half-beaten pillows.

Lavender leaned her head on Daphne's shoulder. "So, did you enjoy your night of freedom?"

"I have to say, I've nearly forgotten everything about today because of it." Daphne smiled. She watched Lavender slowly break the rest of the chocolate bar to pieces. "Why weren't you this cool when we were at school?"

"Why weren't you this fun?"

Daphne didn't answer and continued to watch her. After a moment, her curiosity wandered back to an earlier topic. "Lavender, your back—"

Lavender sat up and yanked off her top.

" _WHOA_! Wait, that's not what I—" Daphne paused, her eyes falling on Lavender's back. "…oh.

Lavender got up and walked to a drawer, rummaging through it with her back still facing Daphne. "I told you that I prefer to forget the days of the war."

Daphne stared at her, horrified. "What _happened_?"

Lavender turned around, unashamed of her nakedness; after all, it was not as though there were anything Daphne hadn't seen before. "Greyback. He was all for some hacking and slashing, the prick."

The pureblood frowned, her brow furrowing. "My god… I—I didn't know…"

"Only a few people do, so don't worry yourself over it."

Daphne watched Lavender move about the room. The only things Daphne had ever had to worry about were family-related. She'd never had to deal with what Lavender did. _Goes to speak for the Gryffindor bravery_ , she glumly thought—which reminded her of something else. "Lav…"

"Hmm?"

"Why… Why did you save me?"

Lavender looked at her. "It was a coincidence, you know," she answered, though her voice was a bit shaky.

"I can see that… But you didn't have to stop and chat with me. You didn't have to take my mind off things." Daphne chuckled. "You didn't have to put my sister in her place."

The hazel-eyed witch grinned. "Those things…they're all a part of me." Lavender returned to the pullout couch and settled beside Daphne once more. "Daph, half of the old me disappeared when Fenrir Greyback scratched me. You told me about that reception, and all I could think was there was another princess facing the werewolf of social humiliation and emotional mutilation." Lavender cupped her cheek. "Why _not_ save her, even if I didn't have anyone to save me and I couldn't save myself?"

The expression in Lavender's eyes was so sincere and heart-wrenching that Daphne wished she could've erased those awful scars on Lavender's back. Daphne wanted to say something kind, something meaningful…but words failed her. Instead, she brushed back a lock of Lavender's hair and kissed her again, but this time it was a gentle kiss, not an urgent one.

"…thank you," Lavender breathed against her mouth. Lavender had most certainly understood why Daphne had done it.

Daphne cuddled into Lavender. "Mind if I crash here tonight?"

Lavender shrugged. "Whatever suits you."

"Hey, Lav."

"Yeah?"

"I don't think I like even the idea of Draco anymore."

"Ah."

"…wolfish girls with a taste for sugar," Daphne said, "are more my thing, I think."

Lavender looked up at her, slowly and experimentally kissing up her neck and jaw. "Thank you, Daph." She kissed her lips again and hugged her. "You're the sweetest thing of all."

**Author's Note:**

> Awesomesauce. Pure awesomesauce. This is one of my favorite fanfics now, because it's so different from my other stuff. It's so…WACKY! But in a delightful way. I think I managed to have people in character, reasonably out of character, and explained the bit of character development! :D Not too shabby! XD *lol* And I even included that canon note about Greyback and Lav…and hinted at Lav's wolfishness with the chocolate (echoes of Remus, anyone? ;D).
> 
> Thanks for reading, and please review!
> 
> -mew-tsubaki 8D
> 
> 2017 note: Still one of my absolute favorite things I've ever written in over a decade of writing fics. X3 Both ladies are charming here, and I could almost see a sequel to this fic. Probably involving Astoria facing her sister while Daphne doesn't really give a damn because her life's fairly complete with her work and Lav in it. -w- Not to mention Lav's wolfish side… Ahh, so appealing. =w=


End file.
